Photography Business FAQ | How To Build (And Maintain) A Photography Business Of Your Dreams

Photography Business FAQ | Starting any business can be scary, especially in saturated industries such as the photography industry. We’re not going to lie, the competition is tough out there – and the number of photographers starting their own businesses is only getting bigger. There’s only so much place in the market for new business owners, and it all comes down to your ability to stand out from the crowd of other photographers in your area or niche. However, just because standing out can be a bit challenging, it doesn’t mean you should give up on your dream of starting your own photography business.

They may say that if you get a job that you love, you won’t have to work a day of your life – but at the end of the day, no matter how creative and fulfilling, every job is still a job. Taking pictures is fun, we’ll give you that, but if you’re serious about starting a business, you’ll need to keep in mind that other chores, responsibilities, and tasks come with running a business. In other words, taking beautiful pictures will get you only so far – in order to turn your business idea into a success story, you’ll need to focus on your business skills just as much as on your photography skills. To help you get started on the right track, we gathered some of the most important tips that will help you avoid most common pitfalls.

Start Building A Brand From The Get-Go | Photography Business FAQ

One of the most important things you can do to stand out from the crowd of photographers in your area is to build a solid brand. If pretty much everyone in the industry has access to the same equipment, shooting locations, and marketing tools, the only way to stand out is to create a memorable and appealing identity for your business that sticks with your potential clients. The first step, however, will be choosing the name for your business. There are a couple of routes you can take: you can either use your own name, or come up with a unique name. Whatever you do, make sure it’s a name you can live with, because suddenly changing the name of your business can do more damage than good.

The next thing should be a logo. Yes, photography logos usually play the second fiddle to the pictures photographers take, but keep in mind that they’re the backbone of every brand and an effective logo will boost brand awareness, communicate a lot about the nature of your brand, and tie together all the branded materials together. You will use the same colors from your logo for the rest of brand elements, and it will be the cornerstone of your visual identity!

Set Up A Website | Photography Business FAQ

In this day and age, starting a business without a website is the perfect recipe for a disaster. Sure, you can still somewhat rely on the traditional means of advertising, but even if a potential clients stumbles upon an ad in a local magazine, they’ll want to check out your website and see more examples of your work before they even consider contacting you. The website you set up doesn’t have to be anything complex – a simple showcase of the best examples of your work and a good contact page are a great start.

Take Care Of Your Equipment | Photography Business FAQ

There’s no denying that the equipment you use will affect the quality of your work, so you’ll want to get the best your budget allows. This will be the most important investment, so make sure you get all the equipment you’ll need the most and that’s actually appropriate for the niche you chose. However, keep in mind that you shouldn’t blow your entire budget on your primary equipment – you’ll also want to get backup equipment. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best! After all, the last thing you want is have your camera die on you in the middle of a shoot!

Set Your Rate | Photography Business FAQ

Yes, we’re going there! Even though majority of photographers don’t feel confident talking about the fees, especially when just starting out, you’ll need to define your rate instead of leaving it up to your clients to set the terms. It’s a better idea to have a starting point, even if you have to lower your fee in order to get clients, than to go in without a plan. If you don’t know your worth, how is anyone else supposed to know it? At the end of the day, only you know how much money you need to bring in to stay in business. However, you’ll need to take a look at the prices of photographers around you and try to keep yours competitive.

Being Your Own Boss Can Be A Blessing And A Curse | Photography Business FAQ

When you’re running your own business and you’re your own boss, no one can make you do anything. This is both a good and a really bad thing. When you own your own business, you are the boss, which means if YOU don’t make something happen, it never will. And if you’re just starting out, you’ll be responsible for not only the shoots, but also editing the images, updating your portfolio, maintaining a social media presence, replying to potential clients and the list goes on and on. There’s good news, though – once you start bringing in profit, you’ll be able to source out some of these tasks and focus on photography instead.

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I had been following Media Novak’s work for a while now and was always impressed with their logo work. The logo designs they came up with based on my wishes for what I wanted it to look like were above and beyond what I had imagined. The process itself was smooth and so easy. I gave input and they took it on board and applied it to the next design. I would highly recommend them any day!

Chantal Lachance-Gibson Photography

I cannot begin to say enough about Mark & the team at Media Novak. Their customer service has been TOP NOTCH! They have gone way beyond my expectations and dreams and have put together a website for me that I am so proud of… I actually can’t believe that it’s mine! If you are looking for a new website or new branding then look no further… contact these guys today!

Myrick Cowart – Photographer

Thank you thank you thank you! I really appreciate all of your help and your quick replies and editing, and well, everything. I will DEFINITELY be referring your team! I love my new logo and I love that it is completely my own and completely encompasses my brand. I really appreciate all of the time and effort your team has put into this project. Thank you again and again!

Bethany Petersen – Photographer

I decided to hire Media Novak after seeing a friends logo that I really liked. I sent them my ideas but I actually preferred one of their original concepts over my own ideas! They really understood the look and feel I was trying to achieve and I am delighted with my new logo! I found the process to be really enjoyable and smooth and emails were answered very quickly… a big thumbs up from me!

Karen McGowran – Photographer

Media Novak were helpful and listened to me as the client… never once tried to push their likes onto me… but they do offer good advice. I think what has mattered most to me was once we went live, they were very much still around to iron out little problems that only became noticeable to myself with the daily running of a website and a blog! I would highly recommend them to other businesses!

Jo-Ann Stokes – Photographer

Media Novak designed a beautiful website for me and I’m very satisfied with it. They listened to what I wanted and tailored the site to fit me and I really appreciate that. Their prices are reasonable and the quality is fantastic. I would highly recommend this company.

About Us

MediaNovak is a creative design agency that specializes in web design, online marketing, graphic design and corporate identity solutions. We started our company with some basic ideals—offer our customers exceptional design, while delivering a positive customer experience.

These ideals have helped grow our business and drive customers to our door. A majority of our business comes simply from “word of mouth” referrals—one customer telling another of the experience that we offer here. We consider this the ultimate compliment.